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Woman who harassed nurse during pandemic fined over ruckus at son’s lion dance competition
Lim Sok Lay had pleaded guilty on Feb 3 to one count of committing an act of mischief, and a separate charge of using criminal force on an acquaintance.ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
SINGAPORE – A woman, who was fined in 2022 for harassing her neighbour amid the Covid-19 outbreak, was fined $4,000 on Feb 26 over new offences, including disrupting her adult son’s lion dance competition in July 2023 and causing more than $1,300 in damage to a costume.
Lim Sok Lay, 52, had pleaded guilty on Feb 3 to one count of committing an act of mischief, and a separate charge of using criminal force on an acquaintance in February 2023.
Her husband, Cheang Eng Hock, 60, is also accused of disrupting the competition. He is expected to plead guilty on March 19.
Defence lawyer Nichol Yeo told the court on Feb 26 that Lim has made a restitution of over $600 to the lion dance troupe.
In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tin Shu Min told the court that the couple did not approve of their son associating with the Times Cultural Arts Lion Dance Troupe, as they felt that it had negatively influenced him.
Knowing that their son’s troupe was competing at West Coast Community Centre in Clementi West on July 29, 2023, the couple went there to confront their son, who was aged 25 then, and the others in the troupe.
The DPP said: “They arrived at the community centre and saw that their son and the... troupe were preparing their props to perform in the competition.
“Shortly before 3.46pm, the accused persons, who were each holding a cup of coffee, poured their coffee over a lion dance costume belonging to the... troupe, staining it. The coffee stains on the costume could not be removed. Additionally, (Lim) kicked the head of the costume, causing damage.”
The commotion disrupted the competition for around 10 minutes, and the couple were escorted out of the community centre.
In a separate case, Lim was at a coffee shop in Punggol on Feb 2, 2023, when a 60-year-old male acquaintance offered to carry her five-month-old grandson, who was crying at the time.
The man then carried the child while queueing for food in front of Lim and her family. He later joined her table and she took the baby back from him.
Later that night, Lim and her family noticed a scratch on the baby’s nose and believed that the man had caused it.
Lim went to the coffeeshop shortly before 8am the next day and confronted the man when she saw him there. She repeatedly shoved the man before walking away.
Further investigations revealed no evidence to suggest that the man had injured the baby.
Lim and her husband first made the headlines when they harassed their neighbour, who was a hospital nurse, and his family in 2020.
The pair shouted the words “Covid”, “Covid spreader”, “virus” and “virus family” at them. Lim also sprayed liquid disinfectant in their direction.
In February 2022, she was fined $4,000 while Cheang was fined $1,200.
- Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
